Greenup Schools adds to police force

Oct. 18—GREENUP — An additional school resource officer was introduced at Greenup County's school board meeting on Monday evening.

Officer Elliott Gollihue is the second officer added to the school's own special law enforcement agency.

Gollihue's appointment was made in order to provide focus at Wurtland and Argillite Elementary Schools and Wurtland Middle School.

In most instances, school resource officers consist of current officers assigned through an outside agency, like a city police or county sheriff's department, but given limited personnel in neighboring agencies, Greenup County Schools has launched its own law enforcement department to employ retired officers from the community.

Gollihue, a retired Kentucky State Trooper, will join Phillip Kearns, a retired detective from Russell Police Department, to not only protect district schools, but to interact with and build relationships with students.

Superintendent Traysea Moresea said by hiring veterans like Kearns and Gollihue, the school district is at an advantage when it comes to having personnel well-versed in the legal system.

The newly implemented Gollihue, according to Moresea, has both law enforcement and teaching experience, making him an ideal candidate with his previous resource officer training — which adds a whole different level to Gollihue's know-how.

School resource officer trainings encompass a wide variety of skills that aren't usually necessary in basic police work, such as being well-versed in school-based policies and understanding disabilities and behavioral health challenges.

Trainings for officers in schools include covering topics like digital safety, mental health, substance abuse, de-escalation, behavioral threat assessments, emergency operations planning and armed assailant response.

In conversations with Jason Smith, Director of Safe Schools, Moresea said it made perfect sense to bring the two officers on staff.

"We had to make sure the type of person we hired already had experience and training, which helps us establish ourselves as an agency," Moresea said.

While Moresea said starting their own police force was an "arduous project," she's confident Kearns and Gollihue have the ability to interact, question and interview students in order to build trust between the school system, students and their families.

"Students understand they are safe to collaborate with an SRO. They're not there to 'catch them,' they're there to help, protect and counsel them when something is going on," Moresea said.

As of now, the school's police force has authority to patrol school property and handling anything pertaining to the student body.

"If they need to do home visits because of an issue at school, they can do that," Moresea said, "Anything on school property or at an after-school event, they have full jurisdiction."

Moresea said the school system has plans to add a third officer in the future once adequate funding has been budgeted.

(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com